Bradley flew as quickly as his mini butterfly wings would carry him. He had urgent and fantastic news to share. Everyone in Oh Valley was invited to a huge celebration in Crazywort.

Crazywort is a community closer to Bradley’s own village of Waterville. It is the only community that has a highly revered Crazywort plant smack- dab in the middle of the town’s central park. The plant is so rare that the founders decided to name their community, Crazywort, after the massive shrub. 

 

 

Once Bradley caught his breath, he said, “Willow spotted a BLUE leaf!” He looked at the gathering cloud of Fancifulls expectantly.

Nothing.

“Willow! Crazywort! The Crazywort bush.”

“Ah,” Belvedere caught on to what he was trying to say. 

“Oh My! Really? This is fabulous news! Well that could only mean one thing. Thank you Bradley, for flying all this way to tell us.”

A blue leaf has been spotted on Crazywort’s iconic plant by Willow Walking Stick, CCM – Community Crazywort Monitor. She confirmed sighting a blue leaf while performing her morning ground check. Willow doesn’t have wings. Instead, Willow’s special ability is that she is an agile climber with a long, slender body that she can maneuver among the branches to easily monitor every single leaf on the Crazywort plant. 

Since spotting the blue leaf this morning and notifying Peabody Praying Mantis, community leader of Crazywort, the whole village has been in a tither, flitting around in a frenzy, preparing for the celebration known as, “The Turning of The Blue.”  Communities far and wide will descend on Crazywort and gather around their fabled plant, rejoicing that they were able to witness an exceptionally rare event. 

You see, no one in Crazywort was alive the last time their namesake plant turned blue.  It is from history lessons that every Fancifull knows what to expect – that within 24 hours, all the leaves on their Crazywort… every budding one, will turn a beautiful shade of indigo – a deep blue, the shade of the night sky as it fades to black with sparkles. All Fancifulls want to witness, “The Turning of The Blue,” and be a part of the grand celebration.

Off to Crazywort, everyone flew, some quicker than others. Dragonflies, although fastest of all Fancifulls, stay to the rear of the community cloud, making sure no Fancifull is left behind.

Bradley, after flying to Oh Valley on his mini wings, was already so pooped, he was finding it very difficult to keep up with the cloud. Thankfully, Darby took Bradley under his wing and made sure he arrived safely with everyone else. Bradley was very grateful. He might have missed the event if not for Darby’s kindness. He is quickly realizing from his dealings with Baxter and by staying at the Insect Inn on occasion, that the Fancifulls of Oh Valley are as nice as the Fancifulls in his own community of Waterville!

When they arrived in Crazywort, they flew in succession around the the Crazywort plant as part of the opening ceremonies. By this point, the Crazywort had already turned half blue. What a sight! This day would be remembered for a lifetime. As Oh Valley’s Weather Prognosticator, Belvedere (Senior Bumble Bee), would ask Buttercup (Butterfly and Oh Valley’s reader and ‘knower’ of all that is important), to make a record of this day in their own community history books and Belvedere himself, would record all the meteorological details of the day. He would also ask his friend, Gramps – a senior Grasshopper, if he recalled anything unusual about the weather today that might have precipitated these events. Belvedere would record any anomalies.

For now, however, Belvedere remained with his Fancifull neighbours and watched as the Crazywort plant continued to develop more blue leaves. The process was quickening its pace. Only buds on the tips of branches remained green. Those buds looked a bit different from all the ones that had turned blue. These were larger, plumper, as though there was something hidden inside them, something besides other leaves,

Then, simultaneously and without warning, hundreds of little white Deetledag flowers burst forth from every one of the large buds. It was startling – similar to having paper confetti thrown at you, without warning. The flowers, remained attached – though just barely as the buds popped open. All the Fancifulls were in awe! This performance hadn’t been recorded in any of the history books they had read. What was going on?

Deetledags are common in Oh Valley. They’re a ground cover plant. Many would classify a Dettledag plant as a weed, always shooting up in the wrong location. Bees don’t even bother to collect the nectar from the Deetledag as it doesn’t really have a taste. It’s bland. It wouldn’t make very good honey.

But this? The Crazywort had never been known to flower. Today the Fancifulls were  discovering an event  that might never be seen again. The only possible conclusion to draw from today’s events was to recognize Crazywort’s Crazywort plant as being a very, very, very old and large Deetledag plant. As a ‘weed’ no Crazywort plant had ever been allowed to age to this point and grow it’s own blue leaves. They were torn out or trimmed off, their significance never recognized.

Belvedere, being Senior Bumble Bee was certain their Queen, Bizzy, would want them to collect the nectar from these flowers so he, along with his nephew, Baxter, and other hive mates, Brighton, Honey, Billy and Bernie worked tirelessly until all the nectar was collected. They found that there was a definite smell and taste difference between a young Deetledag weeds and this ancient Deetledag. This nectar had a strong, pungent taste, like the nectar they collected each summer, from buckwheat flowers.

The Fancifulls were dazzled by the brightness of the pure white Deetledag flowers against the deep blue leaves. They quickly developed a new respect for the little Deetledag plants growing haphazardly around their own homes. Maybe with care and protection, they might eventually host a celebration in Oh Valley like the one they celebrated in Crazywort. At the very least, the bees might have a new nectar source to keep their winter stores well stocked.

As for the community of Crazywort, once they picked up their jaws, they got busy comparing what each had witnessed so they could ensure the final chapter of the History of Crazywort Celebrations was recorded with no detail overlooked. It was guessed that, at previous celebrations, during the shower of excitement, the distraction had held this chapter from being written. Peabody appointed Willow with the new title of Dettledag Historian, now that monitoring of their Newest Deetledag Bush might not be necessary for a very long time.  She would set about collecting witness statements and updating the information supplied in Crazywort’s school history books.

Until next time, The Fancifulls hope you learn something fabulous about the ‘Deetledags’ in your yard….

Sue, Axie, and the Fancifulls of Oh Valley and beyond.

Just a thought… If citizens of Canada are called Canadians, and citizens of Alberta are called Albertans, what do you think the citizens of Crazywort call themselves? Would you believe they refer to themselves individually as, “Worts?” They really do!  Collectively, they are known as, “Wortsandalls.” 😉